This has touched my heart

Hi everyone,

I'm new and this special accolade from a cat had me crying hard. Why? Because a month ago, my family had to move from house to apartment. Princess my beautiful orange and white tabby had escaped out and never came home. How do I grieve not knowing if she is hurt? or if someone took her in? Or killed her through the horrible things I've heard from people. How do I know if to grieve and let her go? I miss her so much and so does my dog, Boots and my other cat, Jenny. When is hope considered a way of denial? I've had all my animals for eight and a half years. Now my sweet Princess has been gone for almost a whole month. I posted in newspapers, visited pounds and animal places, placed bulletins with pictures. Still no Princess. How do you deal with a cat that is lost and you don't know if it ever will come home?

Thank you for listening and understanding

I so so sorry to hear about sweet, beautiful Princess. I have no answers for you on how to grieve, your loss is one of uncertainty. I would no doubt keep hoping for reunion, or at least praying for her safety where ever she may be.

If Princess escaped from your new apartment, she may have found her way back to her old home. Try checking with your old neighbors, maybe someone has seen her. I don't know what to tell you about grieving either, there's still a chance she could be reunited with you.

The same thing happened to me when I moved. Two of my babies never returned home. I moved out of state a couple of months after they disappeared. It haunts me still today, not knowing what happened to them.
Now, I am taking care of a cat that lives on my front porch. She came to me declawed and spayed so I know that she had a home at one time. It is comforting to know that people do take care of lost cats. Someone, somewhere may be taking care of your little Princess. Check PetFinder.org each day. I still post on there about the cat that I "found" in hopes that someone is out there looking for her. Don't give up hope, you may still find her one day.

I know this loss well. I had one cat vanish for 2 years, and turn up unexpectedly when I got a phone call in the middle of the night saying "Are you the lady who knows about cats?" I told the caller, I knew some things about cats, and he told me of a cat he had for a year that suddenly looked "bad." He wanted me to come and take a look at her, so I did. I was shocked when I got there to see my old Funny Face cat (now called Panda) Overjoyed I called to her and she came up to me, and indeed although she recognized me, she looked odd. Turns out, she was ill and we took her to the ER clinic that night. She is still living with the farmer, she is his only cat and appears to be quite content, not having to compete with the crowd here.

I have also had a few cats vanish on me since then, and I hold on to the hope that someone has rescued them and they will be safe. Now I microchip all my cats as an added measure of protection.

If you go to meowhoo.com and look under Specialized Pet Service you will find listings for Pet Detectives. Sherlock Bones has a wonderful downloadable e-book I highly recommend that gives you all sorts of wonderful tips about how to find lost pets.

Best of luck, and don't give up hope- for there is always that!